Outlandish Circumstances
---- The cheering cries of the people rang through his head without remorse, slowly torturing him as he continued to strive forward to the future. The dusty sands of the earth separated underneath the stomp of his foot as he trudged through the earthy yellow grains of the desert, searching for some sort of refuge to shelter in. He was hungry, thirsty and tired. There was no sign of hope in this barren wasteland and the only signs of life there was besides himself was the occasional slither and rapid creeping of the desert snakes and critters. "Damn, I would've made it to that damn outpost if it wasn't for that sandstorm rolling in at the last minute." Aydig hissed to himself, his facial expressions showing a deep distaste for the natural environment of the desert and the great karma he had when it came to safety. It had been days since Aydig last drank or ate, or even sleep. The last time he could remember such luxuries was when he had finished up his time at the last outpost located not too far from the giant lake that separated Joya, Bellum, Iceburg and Desertio in the middle up in the rough, rock filled mountains. His throat was tight and dry, his stomach howled in pain and he had developed very notable grey eyebags underneath his kind eyes from the lack of sleep he has been getting from all the sleepless nights he spent wandering the desert. Aydig stopped in his tracks, noticing a human like figure in the distance with the only way of telling was his outline on the bright blue sky of the sunny day, "...I hate this place. I shouldn't have left Bellum first of all but you never seem to strive your way from trouble do you now?" Aydig rebuked, recognising such figure from his memories. "You've got to be joking me..." Gai gawped to himself, realising the figure in the distance away from him. His eyesight was greater than most people, as he was able to see who it really was beyond the numbers of metres that seperated the two. His cold, silent demeanor quickly vanished in an instant for he had been travelling the desert just as long as Aydig himself, except this time Gai had chosen the more treacherous route through the wilderness. His expression turned into one of pure disgust and anger, as his eyebrows shot down forward and his pearly white teeth tightened against one another, grinding in dismay at the sight of the bald man. "You bastard, I should have killed you back there." Gai snarled as he pulled his rifle from his back holster, slipping the firearm out as if it was polished with fresh oil, leaving it's holder without a problem. Kneeling down on one knee, Gai took aim as he pointed the firearm outward and towards the standing Aydig. Carefully positioning the cross-hairs on Aydig's head before forming an unpleasant natured smile, only seconds before Gai would continue to pull back the trigger and unleash his hate on the wandering monk. A single gunshot could be heard from both the men's end but the whirring of the bullet was only first heard by Gai as it left the barrel of his rifle, heading straight for the open target. The bullet shot through the air just as how any ordinary bullet does when it is fired from a firearm, but this bullet was special for Aydig could sense some sort of magical energy from the projectile as it neared closer and closer to the monk. Realising that Gai had infused some foreign ethernano energy into the bullet to make it harder for Aydig to control, Aydig quickly stepped to the side just in time. His concentration on the bullet allowed Aydig to estimate how long the bullet would reach his position, sighing with relief as the bullet rushed past his head and into the sand behind him. The whirring came to an abrupt stopped for the bullet had caught itself in the cushioning of the desert body, and Aydig looked at Gai with an eerie, disturbed look on his face. "Bullets huh? Tut tut, it seems you haven't learned from our last encounter now did you?" Aydig berated, closing his eyes and envisioned the sands behind him to form a humongous wave that would head straight for his opponent. Just as how his telekinesis worked, the sands behind him began building up on-top of eachother, forming a large grainy wave that towered over Aydig who braced for the attack. Pointing right at Gai, the wave without hesitation began moving out of it's original place and right to the gunslinger according to it's orders. As it 'swam' to Gai, Aydig was in it's path unfortunately and would come to be consumed by the gigantic wave of sand for a brief moment of time. Aydig did not breath, did not exhale or inhale the entire time that he stood inside the sand wave and would continue to remain in his place until the wave would pass around him and return him back to the open world. Just as the wave left his position, all that Aydig could do was watch and stare as the huge body of his creation moved away from him and the sunlight blocked by the magician's power. His body consumed in the shadows just as the seldom cool breeze made it's way to Aydig. "Hmph, that should be all I need to carry on." Aydig praised as the cooling shade of the tidal wave and the fresh breeze combined to cool down Aydig. Amazed at the gigantic wave that Aydig was able to form with his mind, Gai contemplated on his life and wondered why he had not thought about learning Telekinesis before instead of his primary Spirit Slayer Magic. Nonetheless Gai was pretty slow to act on it right now, wondering how we would be able to avoid a great big attack like that and leave barely scathed by the sands. "Geez, he really needs to clam down now doesn't he?" Gai said grumpily and snappy before taking aim once more, having retained his kneeling position on the ground and aiming to where he had previously viewed Aydig who was now blocked by the sand wave he had sent right at him. Pulling the trigger, a gunshot rang in Gai's ears and the same whirring noises filled the air that the bullet traveled through. Heading right for the estimated position that Gai last saw Aydig in as it was right now a blind guess for Gai to hit his attacker. The bullet flew right into the waving sands, disappearing from the sight of Gai and leaving no trace of it's activity whatsoever. However on the otherside, the story was just the same as the bullet failed to pass through the wave and hit it's primary target. Counting in his head, Aydig was keeping track of the wave's timing according to it's massive size and weight. Knowing that it would take a few minutes of his time to reach the target, Aydig was rethinking his options about the approach that he was utilising to apprehend Gai, but alas he needed to concentrate on the attack that he had already begun. A gunshot could be heard from the other side of the wave, alarming Aydig and opening his eyes only slightly to the surprise of Gai attempting to fire another round into the sand wave. "This guy never gives up does he? That's a shame." Aydig babbled, before bringing his arms back up and his palms facing the large wave. "Five... Four... Three... Two..." Aydig counted outloud, preparing for the final strike before pushing his hands forward and using his telekinetic powers to dismantle the structure of the large sand wave as it fell straight forward onto Gai's hypothesised position. He watched the gigantic wave fall and crumble down metres away from him, watching as the wave slowly fell downwards and away from the sky whilst raining hundreds to thousands of sand grains back onto the ground and supposedly onto Gai. A smile formed on Aydig's face, watching the end of their short lived 'squabble' and the danger of Gai now suppressed for now. If Aydig was lucky, maybe Gai wouldn't have found a way to escape and survive the crumbling of the wave, and maybe even cook inside the sands if Gai was unlucky enough to get himself caught up in the mess and stay stranded within the mound. "What now stomach?" Gai scolded as his tummy howled out in agony after suffering one week and a half's time of lack of food. Gai's knee could feel his gut literally rumble against it, and this caused Gai to feel even more weakened due to the loss of essentials that he had faced throughout his time wandering the desert. Whilst distracted, Gai did not notice that the wave had come quite close to the gunslinger himself, not even realising that the wave crumbled right overrhim as sand poured down from above and slightly prickled Gai's soft skin with each grain that rained down. By now it was already too late to come out with an escape plan and Gai looked up to welcome the end of the battle with a smile on his face and the quiet, disgusted mutter escaping his lips. "Aydig you sly bastard..." He whispered before disappearing underneath the mound of sand that once stood up high in the shape of a wave. Now where Gai originally stood was a large mound of sand that piled up, not as high a it originally was but high enough to leave Gai more than six feet underneath it's skin. The desert returned to it's quiet atmosphere, the occassional breeze of wind swept by as Aydig was left standng there having watched Gai welcome a swift end. The sand mound that held Gai's grave stood still as Aydig approached it, curious to see if his enemy had really fallen to give the monk his taste of victory. Remaining extremely conscious with every step that he took towards the hill, Aydig felt uneasy as he approached the mound of sand. He didn't know why he was doing this, it was against his will to come anywhere near the burial sands, but nonetheless his body was being forcibly attracted to it as if there was a strong wire pulling him. His eyes narrowed, nearly closing and his hands began to tighten in a strong grip, he didn't feel right but he had to persevere following his body. This was one of those rare times where Aydig had lost all control of his body as all he could do was watch. "Shit, what the hell is doing this to me? Is Gai alive? Is this his doing?" Aydig mummered quietly in disbelief. He didn't like what was unfolding before his eyes as soon as his left foot then took his first step onto the mound. With each foot climbing onto the hill, Aydig could feel his body weight push him into the sand, progressively sinking the more he would get closer to the top. He was running out of energy for no reason, in an act that he didn't want to commit, only furthering his journey to the end point of death. He didn't know why he was doing it, but only knew that he was doing it. Reaching the top of the hill after long, outward steps, Aydig was able to reach the top of the mound, just above where Gai rested for the meanwhile. Looking out to the desert Aydig could not see anything at all, every corner of the wasteland was covered in sand as it stood out notably from the bright blue sky that overlooked it. There was a strange beauty to this scene, it was calm and peaceful, untouched by the hands of humans and cultured by the presence of the native creatures. A deep breath was taken in by Aydig, his throat energised with air as he exhaled outward, preparing himself for whatever was coming next. Closing his eyes thightly, Aydig opened his hands with his palms outward and lifted them from his sides, lifting the sand around him as it formed a weak twister around the Telekinesis user, and dismantling the mound one handful at a time. A spectacle for those who could be lucky enough to see, Aydig's magic steadily shrank the mound as it was being brought downward. Aydig didn't know what he was doing, he didn't care at this point, he was just interested to see what his instict was heading towards. As the grains of sand was swept away, what was revealed to be in the centre of the mound was Gai himself, his eyes closed and his blond hair pesterd by sand that got caught up in it's strands. His eyes widened up and his jaw slightly dropped to his sight, "Wh-why?" Aydig gaped at why he allowed himself to do such an honourable act. Why would he go back to rescue Gai from his grave beneath the sands? This would have been the end for the Spirit Slayer if Aydig had simply walked away but no, he had chosen to rescue the man out of sheer instinct. From out of nowhere Gai shot his eyes open, a smile on his face formed as his sight laid upon Aydig. "You know that it would take a lot more than that to kill me. Though to be honest here, I didn't really have that much of an advantage compared to you." Gai grinned, weakly pulling his hands from beneath the sand and reaching from his head. Placing his hand on the top of his head and swiping back and forth with his palm still touching his hair, both Aydig and Gai watched as the yellow, earthy granules of sand rained from his hand and back to the land which it came from. Laying in the sand quietly, Gai looked at Aydig for a couple more seconds in an awkward exchange of looks shared between the two mages. Both didn't know what to say, and both certainly didn't know how to react. Were they to fight again? Or make up and become friends. One thing for sure that was clear in both mages' heads was that Aydig had just rescued Gai from a painful death from within the sands, because who knows how that would have turned out if Aydig chosen not to. Pulling himself from the sandy floor, Gai stood face to face with his former opponent, and extended an arm of greetings towards the bald monk. This friendly gesture stumped Aydig, the sudden expression of friendliness and that brief few seconds of Gai ignoring all the wrongs that Aydig has ever done to him in the past, especially a few minutes ago. "Listen pal, I just wanted to say sorry about what happened back there in Bellum. I know what I was doing may have looked shifty from your angle but trust me when I say this, but I swear I was doing what was best for my country." Gai apologisd, still awaiting that handshake that Aydig had yet to return back. Grabbing Gai's hand and shaking it up and down, Aydig smiled at the moment of peace that the two fighters had despite Aydig nearly killing Gai moments before. He felt surprisingly calmer, more at peace for now as his humanity praised him for his unconscious decision to rescue Gai. He still didn't know why he saved him, why his body chose to help. But that's a question he'll be happy to leave unanswered for the meanwhile, all that matters now is the rewarding feeling of rescuing someone from the clutches of the desert. "No worries my friend, I was just doing my job back in Bellum there. Though your actions did shout 'murder' and 'treason' if I am to be honest here. I didn't realise until the last second that those imposters imitating the aristocrat was actually a demon." Aydig conceded as he took his arm back and placed it on his side. "Aye they did mate. Maybe I should have informed you before I ripped his head off but who knows what the hell he had already done to the original aristocrat. That's why I ran I guess, incase that his body didn't deteriorate in time for you to realise that he was actually something inhuman. When you participate in my line of work you begin to remember whos smell is whos, and I knew for sure 'Jerry' back there didn't usually smell like hate and fustration." Gai grinned. Looking back down at the ground, Gai knelt down and planted his hands into the sand, moving them whilst they were within as if he was looking for something. His rifle that he was using before was taken from him right from his hands as the wave collapsed right over him, and since then he has been seperated from his personal rifle. Searching aimlessly and blindly, Gai hurriedly looked for his weapon within the dunes. His breathing became rapid, panting the more he pushed his arms against the dense sands. "No, no, no!" Gai quietly screamed to himself.